73 dead from COVID-19 in Ukraine, 2,511 infected

The number of officially confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ukraine has reached 2,511 as of 9 a.m. on April 11, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health.

Seventy-three people have died from the disease, an increase of four  since the previous report on April 10. In all, 79 people have recovered since the beginning of the outbreak in Ukraine.

For the first time, the number of recovered patients has outpaced the number of fatalities.

As of the morning of April 11, the largest number of coronavirus cases in Ukraine has been registered in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast (545 cases), Chernivtsi Oblast (409 cases), Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (274 cases) and Ternopil Oblast (208  cases).

Over the last 24 hours, Ukraine has identified a record of 308 new COVID-19 cases.

During an online briefing on the morning of April 11, Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said that his ministry had started checking all pneumonia patients for COVID-19, which previously it had not done. In the past 24 hours, Ukraine had conducted 3,017 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the most accurate means of diagnosing COVID-19, he said.

He said that Ukraine has 1,944 lung ventilators ready for use. Currently, 162 ventilators are in use, while 45 COVID-19 patients are on ventilators, Lyashko said.

Ukraine has hospitalized 1,017 people with COVID-19, he said.

Quarantine continues

Quarantine measures put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 will likely be extended until May, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on April 8.

However, it is too early to say when the quarantine will end, as the country is on the verge of a peak in the spread of coronavirus, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said in a video released on the ministry’s Facebook page on April 7.

Stepanov warned that the number of patients was sharply increasing to the point of overloading the medical system.

“To put it simply, the number of patients is increasing so much that there are not enough doctors to help them, nor medicines, nor beds in hospitals,” he said while thanking businesses and volunteers for their support.

As of April 9, 37 state laboratories and three private ones are processing COVID-19 tests, Ihor Kuzin, acting head of the health ministry’s Center for Public Health, said during a briefing. A COVID-19 patient can be considered healthy only after two negative PCR tests.

Kuzin also said that it is technically impossible to conduct mass testing and it is unnecessary, echoing an earlier statement by Deputy Health Minister Lyashko on April 7.

Changing protocol

On April 7, Lyashko clarified the protocol to follow in cases of suspected COVID-19 infections, saying that an ambulance won’t come to test every suspected case. First, a patient should call a general practitioner, he said. Only after this consultation can the patient be tested for COVID-19 — either by the doctor or by a mobile testing brigade. The samples will then be analyzed in a laboratory.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Ukraine is expected to reach its apex on April 14-15.

To prevent the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the government has intensified quarantine measures starting on April 6. It is now forbidden to go out without medical masks and visit public places like parks, squares, recreation areas, forest parks and coastal zones.

People over 60 are required to stay home.

Globally, COVID-19 has killed 102,751 people as of the morning of April 11, and infected over 1.7 million people; 376,529  patients have recovered.

The United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France are struggling the most to curb the spread of the disease.